Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

While a common perception is that the majority of fertility problems affect women exclusively, the truth is that many men suffer from problems of their own that can make it difficult for a couple to conceive a child.Fortunately, there are a number of cutting edge fertility treatments that aim to alleviate these problems, many of which are available at a cheap rate in Cape Town – a destination known for the quality of its medical tourism.
Some of the main fertility issues that men can experience include:

Low sperm count in the semen – this leads to a reduced chance of an egg being successfully fertilised. Sometimes, even when there is a complete absence of sperms in semen, a sample can be collected via advanced sperm retrieval methods.

Problems with ejaculation – retrograde ejaculation makes the semen drain into the bladder instead of making its way out through the penis. In this situation, sperm cells can be collected from a urine sample or even directly from the testes.

Problems with sperm mobility – these can cause the sperm to be unable to reach the egg for fertilisation, but a normal ejaculation is sufficient to collect a sample.

Permanent vasectomy prevents sperm cells from exiting the testes.

Cancer treatment can also cause infertility in men – in this case sperm samples are often taken prior to treatment and stored for later use.

In all the above cases, a procedure that is often prescribed is that of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (often abbreviated to ICSI).This procedure entails the collection of both a sperm sample as well as several eggs from the prospective parents.Each egg is then gently injected with a single sperm cell under laboratory conditions, which are then kept in a culture fluid for a few days.Once healthy embryos begin form, the best of these are then implanted into the woman’s uterus.The entire process is thus very similar to that of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).